V: We Can't Win
"We Can't Win" is the eighth episode of season one of the television series V. Directed by David Barrett, it first aired on the ABC network on April 20th, 2010. In this episode, Anna addresses the World Progress Forum in Switzerland and presents them with their Blue Energy technology. Erica investigates the murder of several Fifth Column members. Valerie leaves Ryan and goes into hiding and Lisa fails her empathy tests. Synopsis In Switzerland, Chad Decker has a dream in which Anna appears in his hotel room after he walks out of the shower. She pins him against the wall in an amorous fashion and asks him, "Can I trust you?" The two begin kissing one another, but then Anna begins choking him. Chad wakes up to the alarm on his cell phone and puts his hand to his throat. He turns on the television and sees a news report showing Anna arriving at the World Progress Forum in Geneva. Back in the U.S., Erica prepares Tyler's breakfast. He is still furious at her for her alleged deception concerning his parentage. Erica tries to make peace with him, insisting that Joe Evans actually is his father, but Tyler doesn't believe her. He storms out of the house to go to the V ship, "where people are honest", he claims. Meanwhile, Valerie calls Ryan on his cell phone. She tells him that she found the vault and wants to know who he really is. Ryan is anxious and wants to meet up with her so he can explain, but Val is more concerned about the ultrasound she found than anything else. She doesn't believe that the baby she's carrying is actually hers. Ryan tries to calm her down, but she hangs up on him. Ryan tries to call her back, but she doesn't answer. Doctor Pearlman comes over and Ryan tells her what happened. She reminds him that if Val goes to see a human doctor, they will immediately realize that the baby she's carrying is half-Visitor. It will be even worse if the Visitors find her. inspects the scene.]] Erica meanwhile, arrives at an FBI crime scene where she meets with agent Sarita Malik and section chief Paul Kendrick. They find three human victims, Carl Bryant, Tom Naslund and Hans Solano. Witnesses report a fourth person was present, Alex Caruso, but he ran off before the FBI arrived on the scene. Malik points out how all three victims bear a V-shaped scar beneath their left earlobe. Exploring another room, they find evidence linking the victims to the Fifth Column. Malik explains that the Fifth Column are an anti-Visitor terrorist cell, but Erica behaves as if she never heard of them before. Kendrick wants his team to focus their energy on bringing down the Fifth Column. Malik tells Erica to find Alex Caruso. In Switzerland, Marcus gives Anna an update on the recent "John May" schism. He feels confident that the globally broadcast message will actually serve to flush the Fifth Column out of hiding. Anna is pleased. She leaves the room and greets Chad Decker. Both of them are prepared for the summit meeting, and Anna expresses her desire to help change the world. Chad tells her that the meeting is more about politics than anything else, and will likely not produce any positive results. Anna however, is more optimistic. Meanwhile, Erica goes to St. Josephine's church where she finds Ryan. Ryan tells her that Val is missing and that she is pregnant. Erica brings him into a back room where Jack Landry and Kyle Hobbes are waiting. When they learn about Valerie, Hobbes makes a disparaging remark about Ryan and the two nearly come to blows. Erica breaks them up so they can get down to business. She tells them about the dead Fifth Column members she found in Queens and says that the killer stole a hard drive from their computers - a hard drive that could contain vital information such as the names of other members of the Resistance. Though she has not been able to located Alex, she does have an address for his father, Victor Caruso, who is a resident at the River Heights Veterans Hospital. Jack volunteers to go and see him, hoping that he might be willing to talk to a priest. On the Visitor mothership, Joshua approaches Lisa and tells her that it is now her turn to undergo Anna's empathy tests. She is placed on a table and subjected to a barrage of intense imagery. Joshua analyzes the data and tells her that she failed. Lisa claims that her assignment with Tyler must have distorted the results of the test. Joshua betrays no emotion and says that Anna's directives requires the elimination of any V who fails the tests. In Geneva, the summit is about to begin. Anna meets with the Secretary General Pributi Chima and she introduces him to Chad Decker. Chima is cordial, but incredulous of Anna's contributions to the summit. Anna promises him that the Visitors' Blue Energy technology will be a tremendous asset to world powers. Jack Landry goes to the River Heights Veterans Hospital to speak with Victor Caruso. The man is in a hospital bed and doesn't have long to go. Jack asks him if there is any family he can contact for him, and Victor says no, citing that he doesn't trust anyone. He beckons Jack to lean towards him, at which point, he grabs his head and turns it so he can see the V scar below his ear. Realizing that Jack is part of the Resistance, he tells him Alex joined the Fifth Column and told him the truth about the Visitors. Jack gets Alex's current location out of him, and makes him a promise that he will do everything he can to keep him safe. Jack, Erica and Hobbes go to the rooftop of the address that Victor supplied them. As they call out his name, a gunshot rings out and the three take cover. Jack calls out to Alex, telling him that they are friends who want to help him. It is Erica who finally gets Alex to calm down though and she convinces him to lay down his gun. Alex is terrified and tells them that the Visitors killed all of his friends. ]] Back in Geneva, Chad takes the Secretary General aside to get a statement (off the record). He notes that he is the first person to publicly oppose Anna and is curious as to why. Chima tells him that the gifts the Visitors' provide always come with consequences. As an example, he notes how the Visitor healing centers are a financial drain on the Healthcare industry. Chad disagrees and cannot understand why money should take precedence over helping people. Chima responds that they are the same thing. Later, Anna learns that a small island nation has just been struck by a massive hurricane, resulting in a body count numbering in the thousands. She sees this as a great opportunity to manipulate public opinion once again. She orders Marcus to dispatch rescue shuttles equipped with Blue Energy to the beleaguered island. Aboard a Visitor shuttle, Tyler finds Lisa. He asks her why she hasn't returned his calls, but she confesses that things have been complicated recently. He wants to stay with her, saying that he cannot be with his family right now. He wants to join the Live Aboard Program and be with Lisa always. He always knew that he would grow up to experience something fantastic. The two begin kissing one another and lie down on a sofa to make love. Meanwhile, Ryan telephones Erica. He has been unsuccessful in his attempts to contact Valerie and asks her to use her resources to put a trace on Valerie's cell phone. Erica agrees to do it and hangs up. She then returns to her meeting with Alex Caruso and the others. Alex tells the group that members of his unit used a special website to transmit encrypted instructions to one another. He was supposed to meet with some of his allies, but a Visitor intercepted them and killed the others. Alex barely managed to escape. Hobbes comes up with a plan to use Alex as bait to lure the Visitor assassin out of hiding. He wants Alex to send an SOS out on his website, knowing that it will draw the assassin's attention. Alex is scared, but agrees to cooperate. Aboard the Visitor mothership, Joshua meets with Samuel. He tells him how Lisa failed the empathy test. Samuel sees this as a great opportunity to rid themselves of another enemy, but Joshua disagrees. He thinks that Lisa is turning, and in fact, could become a tremendous asset to the cause. Ryan meets up with the others at the safe house. Erica tells him their plan, and Ryan gives them insight as to how the assassin will come at them. While Jack talks with Alex, Erica receives a telephone call from Malik. She learns that the assassin has been picking names off the hard drive and that six more Fifth Column members have been killed. Meanwhile, reports flood in to news stations about Anna's rescue efforts to the weather-stricken island. The members of the summit reverse their opinions about showcasing her presentation and Anna takes the stage at the forum. She produces two small, glowing spheres of Blue Energy. The sphere's dissolve and arcs of energy circulate harmlessly throughout the chamber. She tells the congregation that Blue Energy is a safe, clean, sustainable power source. Her presentation receives applause from everyone at the summit. Even Secretary General Chima respects her accomplishments, but does not appreciate the fact that she used a national emergency to gain political clout. "If they're just visiting...", he says, "Why does she need that clout?" Alex sends the SOS message across his website and arranges to meet with someone at an empty amusement park. Erica, Jack and Hobbes prepare Alex for the meeting and outfit him with a listening device. While Alex stands in the middle of the park, the others take position in secure areas. The assassin appears and is perched in a sniper position from a high vantage point. He begins firing at Alex, but cannot get a clean shot. Hobbes tries to coax Alex through the situation, but the man grows increasingly scared. The sniper fires several more shots, but they all miss. Alex panics and runs towards Jack. Once he is in clear view, the sniper fires a kill shot into Alex's back. The sniper takes off running and Erica gives chase. She catches up to him and the two fight, but Jack appears behind them and shoots the sniper in the leg. As they examine the man's wound, they find that he is not a Visitor, but a human. Aboard the mothership, Anna summons Lisa and brings her to the nursery. They look down at a hatchery filled with thousands of soldier eggs. Anna picks one up and indicates that this particular unborn soldier is weak. She compares it to human emotion, saying that such feelings are another example of weakness and if their race is to survive, weakness in any form cannot be tolerated. Taking Lisa's hand, she crushes the egg between Lisa's palm and her own. She then tells her that Joshua reported that she had passed the empathy test. Lisa is doubtlessly surprised by this deception, but her face bears no indication of it. Anna says that she never doubted her for an instant. After the discussion, Anna goes to her chambers to speak with Chad, leaving Lisa to her own devices. She goes to the medical bay to address Joshua. She asks him why he lied about her empathy tests. Johsua tells her that one day, he will require a favor from her... and she will comply. Meanwhile, Valerie checks herself in to a Visitor Healing Center. A doctor examines her ultrasound, and grows immediately concerned. Valerie doesn't like the way he's looking at her and tries to leave. The doctor restrains her, but Ryan breaks into the room and snaps the doctor's neck. He then places a capsule into the man's mouth, which disintegrates his body. Ryan and Valerie run out of the center. Elsewhere, in a secret room, Erica, Jack and Hobbes suspend their captive from a chain and begin interrogating him. Erica asks him why he committed these murders and the man replies, "Because... we can't win". Cast Principal Cast Guest Stars Notes & Trivia * The title of this episode is taken from the last line of dialogue as spoken by Jeffrey. * Chad's dream demonstrates his physical attraction to Anna, but also shows that he is beginning to distrust her. Despite these misgivings, Chad continues to support Anna throughout the remainder of the season. * The sniper is later identified as Jeffrey Barnes in "Heretic's Fork". See also External Links * * "We Can't Win" at the V Wiki * "We Can't Win" at TV.com Episode Guide * "We Can't Win" at ABC.com Episode Guide ---- Category:2010/Episodes Category:April, 2010/Episodes